The God of Death Meets Zero
by mario72486
Summary: A novelization of one of my favorite GW episodes. I might do more of these in the future if people like this one. Please read and review!


Gundam Wing: Episode 32

"The God of Death Meets Zero"

A small convoy was making its way from one of the many space colonies to OZ's lunar base. It consisted of a support carrier, towing a large shipment of some sort, and five Space Leo mobile suits. They seemed to be moving faster than usual because of the sector they were about to travel through.

"Group leader, this is the escort unit. We're about to enter the area in question." Said one of the Leo pilots. "Are you getting any readings?"

The two soldiers in the carrier checked their scopes. "No," replied one of them, "but I'd hate to be involved in an accident in an isolated place like this."

Just then the copilot noticed something on the radar. "What's that, a mine?" He pointed to a shining object ahead of them.

"I'll check it out." Said the leader of the Leo squad.

"Be careful."

"Roger." The squad leader maneuvered his mobile suit to where the object lay. After a quick examination he figured out what it was. "It's a part of the spacecraft from the accident. It must've exploded - there are pieces scattered all over the place." Suddenly, several of his mobile suit's systems started to freeze up. "What the?!"

The carrier was facing the same problems. "What's going on?" Asked one of the pilots in a panic. "What did you find?"

"ECMs, and they're powerful!" Cried another Leo pilot.

As if on cue, the black wings of a larger mobile suit were brought into attack position. The dark green eyes shone brightly in the mist of scattered spaceship parts. 

The Leo was scrambling to see what was going on, and he finally noticed the larger suit. "What's this?" As he saw the devil-like mobile suit, the Gundam Deathscythe Hell, igniting its weapon of choice: a twin beam scythe, he screamed in horror. "IT'S A GUNDAM!!!" The D-Hell slashed at the Leo, destroying the cockpit and killing the pilot inside but leaving the rest of the mobile suit intact.

The rest of the squad immediately responded to the death of their leader. "The Leo up ahead was destroyed! Attack!" They fired on the attacking Gundam, but the shots had no effect on its Gundanium Alloy armor. The D-Hell swung its scythe again, this time stabbing into a Leo's head, destroying its main camera and the pilot below. Another Leo headed straight for his comrade, firing his beam rifle as he came. The D-Hell fired its Vulcan cannons, doing serious damage to the suit. It then threw the incapacitated suit at the one damaged by the Vulcan barrage.

Next, the Gundam headed straight for the carrier. Duo Maxwell, the pilot of the suit, yelled out his battle cry: "THE GOD OF DEATH IS BACK FROM HELL!!!" While the last of the Leos continued firing at the Gundam, the pilots of the carrier frantically tried to call for help.

"Damn it all! There are only two of them left!" Yelled one of the pilots.

"I can't contact Fortress Barge!" Cried his comrade. Meanwhile, the D-Hell cut off the head of one of the Leos. As soon as it landed on top of the carrier, the last enemy mobile suit attacked it. The Gundam activated its Beam Scissors attack and fired it. The shield drilled into the Leo and destroyed it. Finally, the D-Hell stabbed its scythe into the cockpit of the carrier, completely annihilating the ship and leaving the cargo unharmed.

With the battle over, Duo checked his Gundam's systems, making sure everything was in working over. "So, it's about 80% complete." He said to himself. "The remaining modifications shouldn't be too difficult to make." He then remembered the lifeless hunks of mobile suits and the cargo they were guarding. After tying them up, Duo said, "Time I made my getaway!" With that, the Gundam hauled its large load to the colony where he hid out.

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OZ's lunar base, which was originally used for mobile suit construction and testing, was now a mass production line for their new additions to the space force. These new Virgo mobile suits were a combination of the Mercurius's defense systems and the Vayeate's offense systems. Instead of pilots, the Virgos were controlled using a special computer system, allowing them to identify targets and wipe them out with ease. These lifeless mobile suits became known as mobile dolls. 

Colonel Tuberof was the mastermind of the mobile doll. He believed that mobile suits controlled by pilots were inefficient. If a normal mobile suit were destroyed, a soldier's life would be lost and couldn't be replaced. However, a destroyed mobile doll could be replaced with ease. While many leaders favored using the mobile doll, others, including Treize Khushrenada, the ex-commander of OZ, believed that replacing pilots with these lifeless dolls would be an embarrassment to future generations.

The Virgos were first constructed to help the Romefeller Foundation in their quest to bring the Earth under their rule. Operation Nova's purpose was to settle rebel disputes in countries by sending Virgo mobile doll troops to wipe them out. Without opposition, Romefeller could take control of Earth and the colonies in a matter of months. The supplies needed to build OZ's weapons at the lunar base were sent from the many colonies of the Earth Sphere. While the Virgo production line continued as normal, the rate decreased as convoys and pilots turned up missing.

At this time, Tuberof was admiring a group of Virgos being constructed. An officer came in with the daily report.

"Um, sir, Convoy 674 and its escort unit have vanished."

"What?" Exclaimed Tuberof. "What do you mean they vanished?"

"They were expected to arrive at the base an hour ago, sir. Their last known coordinates were 5.9.2..."

"You idiot!" Yelled Tuberof. "They couldn't have disappeared into thin air! They've been killed off!" He snatched the report from the officer's hands and stared out the window into space. "Probably by a Gundam."

"Sir, Lieutenant Trant has assembled a unit, and he's heading to the area to investigate. There's a list of his unit in the report."

Tuberof looked over the unit. "10 Taurus suits, 50 space mines, 1 support carrier, wait a minute...Trant is the only soldier?! Contact him immediately!!!"

"But sir, he's currently on his search mission, and he may not be able to..."

"I don't care!!! Get him on the line!!!" 

"Um...sir!"

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Lieutenant Trant Clark was a technical officer in the OZ space force. His group had taken a new Wing Gundam Zero into their custody. Trant secretly defied orders by not destroying it. He was fascinated by the system it used, and he performed several different exercises with the suit. Today, one of those tests would begin...

Trant sat in the cockpit, watching the static on the screen. It quickly went blank again. He looked around the cockpit, seeing nothing but a spherical screen in front of him. Red blips meant enemies; the center meant his current position. His hands hesitantly reached for the sticks that controlled the suit's functions. "Okay, it's stable now." He said to himself. The emerald orb on the Gundam's chest shone a bright green, as did its eyes. 

He turned on the data log and began speaking. "Trant Clark logging in. Following my examination of the new Gundam's cockpit system, I must conclude that it's unlike anything I've ever encountered." The first part of the test began as space mines headed for the Gundam. Trant noticed them and took action. The panels on Zero's shoulders flipped open, revealing machine cannons. They fired continuously, destroying the mines coming from all directions. "This cockpit exposes the vulnerabilities of all soldiers in Outer Space."

"It's equipped with a system that increases the combative abilities of the pilot," Trant said. He observed the squad of Taurus mobile suits heading straight for him. Like the Virgos, the Taurus suits were built to be mobile dolls, although a human pilot could operate it as well. "It can fully match the reaction time of the mobile dolls. But as soon as the brain wave levels are increased during combat, a problem emerges."

The Taurus suits fired their beam cannons straight at Wing Zero. Using its rocket system in its wings, the Gundam easily avoided the shots. It countered by activating its most powerful weapon: the twin Buster Rifle. The cannon split into two, and Wing Zero fired them in opposite directions. A pair of Taurus were exposed to one of the massive beams of energy and exploded instantly. Wing Zero returned the twin rifle to their original for and fired at a trio of Taurus suits trying to fly away. They too met the same demise.

Trant watched the screen as red blips vanished. Suddenly he felt the side effects of the Zero System. _Here it comes_, he thought. The remaining Taurus suits fired at the Gundam as it tried to counter-attack. Trant brought the Buster Rifle into position, but he then felt his arms freeze up, as if paralyzed. "My arms! I can't move!" Horrific visions filled his head. He was made to believe that the Wing Zero was being severely and fatally damaged by its attackers. Finally, one Taurus fired its mega-particle cannon at the Gundam, obliterating it. It was then that the visions ended, and Trant screamed out loud. "AAAAH!!! Terminate combat simulation!" With that, the test of the day was over.

Later, Trant sat in his support carrier as he thought about the test. _Why did I start to hallucinate_, he thought. He then remembered the incident that happened weeks earlier. When he tested the Zero System with one of the Gundam pilots, the mobile suit went out of control and caused a lot of damage to the base. _Did they get out of control because they were hallucinating, too? If I could get data on actual battles, rather than simulations, I'd be able to figure out something._

Trant went to his computer and searched for info on the escapees of the lunar base. _Let's see - the two Gundam pilots that escaped should still be in Outer Space. _Suddenly the radio buzzed as an incoming message came in.

"Lieutenant Trant, come in! This is the Lunar Base. Respond immediately! Orders from Colonel Tuberof!" Trant ignored the message and turned off his radio.

"Either one of them will do," said Trant. "I'll just find one of them and get my data. Once I've done that I'm sure I'll be able to persuade Colonel Tuberof."

************************************************************************

"Where is he?" Tuberof asked impatiently. He was in the control room waiting for Trant to reply. "Have you reached him yet?" He asked an officer.

"Um, Lieutenant Trant has ignored all of our hails, sir," he replied.

"I see. Get on the line with Fortress Barge. Tell them to send troops to find and arrest Trant. This is definitely a defiance of military procedures."

"Aye, sir."

_I hope I'm overreacting_, Tuberof thought. 

************************************************************************

When Duo wasn't out scrapping convoys, he hid out in a nearby L2 colony. After his friend Hilde quit OZ, she went back to her father's business of selling and buying spare parts. She offered Duo a place to stay. How could he refuse an offer from a good friend? So Duo worked at the junk business while collecting the parts he needed to complete his Gundam. He got his parts from the multiple junk piles and what remained of the mobile suits he destroyed.

Duo drove a truck (loaded with what was left of the Leos he battle earlier) into the front of one of the colony's junk dealers. He climbed out of the truck to find a man waiting for him at the gates.

"You're the guy who needed fuel for mobile suits, aren't you?" He asked.

"Yeah, sorry for bothering you like this," Duo replied. "Here's your payment: genuine OZ products."

"The stuff's in the trailer out back, so help yourself." The man walked over and handed Duo a clipboard. "Here, sign this form." He climbed into the truck without looking back.

"Hey, wait a sec! Don't you want to see what's in there first?"

The man looked out the driver window and replied "we'll never make ends meet if those guys completely take over. Until then I'm counting on you to do the best you can kiddo. I'm counting on you, lad. Just let me know if you need bullets! Contact me anytime!" The man drove the truck out of the yard and off into the city.

Duo looked at the clipboard he was holding. "He drove off without even taking my payment. Wow."

"Duo?" The young pilot turned around to find Hilde running toward him. "Do you need any help?"

"Nope, it's all under control. Meet me back at the shop. I just have to get my order."

"Sure thing," Hilde replied. "Later!" She jogged off. Duo looked on for a few seconds and then ran in the opposite direction.

************************************************************************

Unknown to either of them, the Wing Zero was headed in their direction, followed by a troop of Taurus mobile dolls. 

Trant was willing to do anything to find one of the Gundam pilots. Even if it meant annihilating each colony one by one to do it. "I'll go to the area where a number of convoys have disappeared and give it a thorough search," he said.

************************************************************************

Later, Duo was searching one of the junk piles for parts for his Gundam.

"Duo!" Hilde yelled as she ran up to the junk pile.

"Did you find any information?" asked Duo.

Hilde shook her head. "I wasn't able to find anything about OZ's new transport plans."

"OZ isn't that ignorant. They're just being more cautious, I guess."

"Let me know if there's anything I can do," said Hilde. "I'll do anything!"

Duo thought for a second. "Well, ok. I wouldn't mind having a juicy steak for dinner!" He chuckled.

"Come off it!" Hilde retorted. "I'm totally serious."

"I know, I know," replied Duo. "I appreciate your help."

Suddenly the two of them heard the sounds of a large object heading in their direction. Duo gasped as he saw the mobile suit. "It's a Gundam!" He exclaimed. It reminded him of the Gundam Heero used back on Earth, but this one was different.

"Freeze," said the pilot inside the Gundam. He pointed the Buster Rifle right at Duo. The cockpit opened, and Trant came out on the entry ramp.

"Duo Maxwell," said Trant, "I demand that you come with me. Do it or you're dead."

Duo looked to his side and held up his hands. "Hey, do what you've got to do. But remember the power of that beam cannon. You could completely demolish this colony if you fire it!"

"I don't care," Trant replied. "I have no interest in what happens to this place kid. I've got no intention of remaining an insignificant technical officer. Once I figure out this new Gundam's system, Colonel Tuberof's mobile dolls will become useless tools of the past. What the new OZ needs is a completely new system, and I'll do whatever it takes to make that happen. Now come with me, Gundam pilot, you're the only one I want." Trant concluded. Duo snarled, but he realized that he had no choice but to cooperate.

************************************************************************

Outside the colony, the Wing Zero and the Taurus suits were being prepared for the test. Duo was in the cockpit of the Gundam with various wires attached to his head and arms.

"What's with the crap you put on me?" he asked. "All right, what do you want me to do?"

Trant was making adjustments to the controls. "I want you to fight the mobile dolls with the Wing Zero, with real firearms, of course."

"That's fine with me! But you know that I might try to escape during the test."

"No you won't," replied Trant. "I've set it so the Wing Zero can be stopped from the outside. Besides, I've programmed the mobile dolls so they'd change their target to that colony if you decide to try anything." Duo's thoughts of escape vanished, and he decided to go through with the test and find a way out later.

"Right! Commence!" Trant called. The mobile dolls immediately opened fire on the Wing Zero. Duo was able to maneuver the Gundam out of the barrage.

_If I use the Rifle in this position I could do serious damage to the colony, _he thought to himself. _So I'll use THIS instead! _He pulled out one of Wing Zero's beam sabers and sliced a Taurus in half, causing it to explode. 

All the while Trant was observing the test from his Taurus. "That's good, Gundam pilot. That's the way to fight. Show me everything you see."

Duo flew the Gundam through the mobile dolls and protected himself from laser blasts with the shield on the left arm. Suddenly he saw something he thought he'd never see: the old version of the Deathscythe right in front of him! "What?! No way! What's going on?"

"So you saw it!" said Trant. "You must tell me: what's the Wing Zero trying to show the pilot?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" replied Duo, frantically. "I see: that's my enemy," he said to himself. After slicing his way through a pair of Taurus suits, the scene around him changed. Thousands of Deathscythes flew straight toward him with their beam scythes ready for the kill. Duo was totally freaked out, and he screamed with all of his might. The cockpit surrounding him turned a gold color as the Zero System kicked in.

Duo now viewed Outer Space as a dark violet color, and the mobile dolls flew in slow motion, firing their weapons as they went. Duo aimed the Buster Rifle at one of them and fired. With one Taurus gone, the massive cannon was aimed in another direction. With this blast, another mobile doll was destroyed. Then a Taurus flew behind the Gundam, and right in the path of the colony, and fired. Duo didn't hesitate as he aimed and fired the Buster Rifle. The Taurus was destroyed, but the energy blast kept going and blew right through the colony.

Duo saw horrific images of the colony's insides being blown apart. Then it, and Hilde, was incinerated in a matter of seconds. It was here that the images ended, and Duo regained his senses. "What am I doing? What in the hell have I been doing?!" he asked himself. He looked up and noticed that he stabbed the last Taurus with his beam saber. He pulled out the energy sword and let the mobile suit fall to its explosive death.

"No, no way..." Duo said. He looked to his surroundings: the remains of the mobile dolls, and the L2 colony still intact. Duo let go of the control sticks and shivered all over. "It couldn't be. There's no way! How could a person do this?"

"It's possible," replied Trant, who opened the cockpit. "Believe me, it is. We can do anything with this outstanding system. It capable of altering a human's consciousness. Anything's possible with it."

Just then a new voice came on the communication frequency. "Lieutenant Trant, come in. Hand over the Wing Zero and surrender yourself immediately. Orders from Colonel Tuberof." Trant saw a troop of seven Space Leos heading straight for him. "I repeat, hand over the Wing Zero and surrender!"

"They're here." said Trant. He threw Duo out of the Gundam and took his place in the cockpit. "I'll do it. I'm going to go for it!" The hatch closed and the Gundam flew off to combat the Leos.

"No, don't do it!" said Duo, weakly. "Leave it alone! Just forget that system!" Luckily for him, Hilde flew a transport craft in his direction and picked him up.

"The Wing Zero is heading straight for us! What do we do, Colonel?" asked the squad leader.

Back at the lunar base, Tuberof replied angrily, "kill him now!"

"Roger."

Tuberof closed the line. _He's a dead man_, he thought.

Trant used the Gundam's beam saber to slice through two of the Leos. As they exploded, he admired the five other enemies in front of him. "Just a little more, I can't see everything yet. Come on! Give me all you got!"

"Duo, don't do it! You can't fight in your condition!" Hilde yelled. Duo ignored her and activated his mobile suit's systems.

"Don't worry, Hilde," he replied. "Remember, I'm a Gundam pilot." The hatch of the transport opened, revealing the Deathscythe Hell. It's wings opened, and it flew straight to the battlefield. _That system is more than a human can handle_, Duo thought. _I've got to stop him!_

Trant stabbed a Leo through its cockpit, killing the pilot inside. As it kicked the dead suit away, another Leo fired at the it with its machine gun. It had no effect, and he too met his comrade's fate.

"Yes!" Trant cried. "My consciousness is expanding! I can almost see everything! I'm almost there!!!" He laughed maniacally as he threw away the beam saber and pulled out the Buster Rifle. He fired multiple times, obliterating what was left of the Leo squad. "I want more, I haven't had enough! I haven't had enough yet!" Trant aimed the Buster Rifle right at the colony.

"STOP IT!!!" Duo yelled, attempting to slash the Wing Zero with his beam scythe. No matter how he tried, the enemy Gundam avoided all of his attacks. "Damnit!!! He's incredibly fast!"

"I can see...I can clearly see your moves!" Said Trant, the Zero System having total control over him. "I can even see you during your death!"

"IN YOUR DREAMS!" Duo tried another strike, but Trant blocked the scythe with his shield. The D-Hell did its best to try and force the scythe through the shield, but the Wing Zero held strong. "No, he's even stronger than I am!" Duo exclaimed. 

The Wing Zero then knocked the scythe out of D-Hell's hands.

"Now you're dead!" Trant yelled. The D-Hell charged the Zero with all of its might, but it didn't stand a chance. "You fool! Haven't you realized by now that there's no way you can defeat me?!" Zero grabbed D-Hell's head, attempting to crush it. "Ha ha, this will do it!!! You'll die right now and the glory will be all mine!" Suddenly another image popped into his head.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Duo. It might just be a tie!" Duo pressed his self-detonation device, causing an explosion that obliterated both Gundams.

Trant screamed as the suicidal vision faded. "Get away from me!" He yelled, kicking the D-Hell away. "I won't be defeated, especially not by a young punk like you!"

"If you were to lose," replied Duo, "it wouldn't be to me. You'd be losing to the Wing Zero!"

"There's no way I can be defeated!" Trant proclaimed, firing the Buster Rifle.

"YOU STILL DON'T GET IT, DO YOU?!" Duo yelled, launching the Beam Scissors. Both attacks collided and created a massive explosion, causing both mobile suits to be thrown back. Although the Deathscythe Hell regained control, the Wing Zero was thrown into space.

"I WON'T LOSE! I CAN'T POSSIBLY LOSE!" Trant yelled. "I CAN HANDLE A SYSTEM LIKE THIS WITH NO PROBLEM! AAAAAAAAAH!!!" His helmet cracked, sucking all the air out of it. Trant was killed instantly as the Wing Zero spun out of control.

Duo removed his helmet with a depressed look on his face. "It's just too much for a human being to handle," he said. "If anyone were capable of it, they'd be superior to the entire human race." Duo was then silent as he watched the Wing Zero continued it's unknown course into deep space.

To be continued...


End file.
